Clarifications

   There are a few things about the Leibowitz Society that I want to clarify and emphasize as we go forward, as the Society is still in the early stages of being public.

   First, there are no qualifications to being a "member" of the Society.  There is no process to joining, other than simply accepting that we are in serious trouble as a society and civilization and need to start preparing on a long-term basis for what is coming our way.  While I appreciate people who want to identify themselves publically as being part of the Society, and are willing to spread the word of what we are trying to accomplish, I also understand that many people are relucant to admit planning for the kind of sobering future we are facing.  With this in mind, there is no record of who is a member and who isn't, because there is no process to join outside of simply deciding that you want to start preserving and protecting civilization's knowledge for when the world emerges from the new dark ages.

   (as a caveat:  this also means that the Leibowitz Society explicitly and emphatically accepts no responsibility for anyone who is a member does in legal, political or social terms)

   Second, the Society's works and materials will always be free, outside of the open possibility of a bound hardcopy archival version of the Codex Universalis for those who are interested.  If anyone were to have extra money to join an organization preparing for a collapse, I would instead suggest that they would be better off taking that money and spending it on supplies, land, relocation, etc.  There is more than enough relevant information on the internet available for free to have to instead contemplate paying for it. 

   Third, the society is emphatically apolitical.  This is because it is intended to be an international organization, as well as a broad-based organization which is intended to appeal to people from all segments of society.  The political parties and the causes of today are going to quickly become irrelevant and meaningless once the facade is roughly torn away from our current existence and the reality of the new world we are entering quickly becomes apparent.  What is the use of bickering over social issues when mass starvation and disease from poor sanitation are looming spectres?  From time to time, I do comment on politics, but mostly from the perspective of how it has affected our current situation, not as an attempt to bolster one party or another -- both sides of the political aisle have had plenty to do with where we are now.

   Last, either regarding comments on the blog, materials submitted for the Codex or Repository, and posts on the website and forum when it goes live, I will not tolerate people making asses out of themselves as trolls, or posting inflammatory/bigoted speech.  The Society is intended to be an effort which appeals to a broad base of people with a large skill set.  People who are interested in the Society are likely concerned about where the world is headed and will come from all walks of life.  To limit the Society to one demographic or another is clearly defeating the purpose.  As an aside, for the "gentleman" who sent me an Email rant accusing the Leibowitz Society of being a front for some kind of Jewish conspiracy, I'll point him in the direction of Walter Miller's novel for the origin of the Society's name and point out that when civilization crashes, no one is going to have time to spin fantasies of cabals and conspiracies.